<!--StartFragment--> AZ8s, we look forward to meeting you! Not that long ago, I was in your shoes. Freaking out over what to pack and what to put everything in, spending as much time as possible with my friends and family, and searching high and low for PC/AZ advice. Here’s my two cents. Note that this perspective comes from a 37-year-old, female, university TEFL volunteer. I live in Sheki, a

Time goes by more slowly here. My day is divided by teatimes – breakfast tea, mid-morning tea, tea after lunch, afternoon tea, before-dinner tea (I’ve cut this one out), and after-dinner tea. Semi-weak black tea is the national beverage. For all teatimes except breakfast, it is customary to eat ‘konfet’ (candy) with the tea. This is eaten in lieu of adding sugar to the tea. So that means I am

Had a GREAT time with my new American friends at Christmas. People from both years (AZ6 and AZ7) were there – 20-25 of us in all. It was fun because I could really be myself. And I got to be domestic, which I have been craving. Stephanie and I made pancakes while Brandon watched and commented on our lack of artistry. Stephanie is only a couple of hours north of me, in Balakan, last stop before

Swearing-in was successful and I am in Sheki. But I am exhausted. It is difficult to adjust to a new culture. I will write more when I can. And hopefully post pictures!

Next week, if all goes well, I will swear in and become a Peace Corps volunteer. The next day I will be shipped off to Sheki. I'm glad I have something to look forward to during this holiday season. It's hard to be away from home! Here's a photo of myself and my Sheki counterpart. Fellow Sheki-mate Irene and her counterpart are also in the photo.

Yesterday Peace Corps held a sweet ceremony to reveal where each of the 31 teachers will be sent. "Drum roll please....AMANDA! You are going to DEVACHI! Woooo! Come on up here and place the yellow flag on the map!" I already knew I was going to Sheki but I was anxious to see where my new friends are going off to. Beth will be near Tovuz, Sierra and Irene will be with me, Stephanie will be about

Every day is a rollercoaster of emotions. My mood changes by the hour. Stuff that bums me out: Waking up and wishing I were with my favorite person Walking through 1/4 mile of mud twice a day The dead cat near Beth's house Cramming onto buses Speaking my classroom Azeri and not being understood All the damn Masazir construction that screws up my daily, and expensive, commute to Sumgayit Stuff

I don't have much time to write but here's a quick update - I will be a teacher trainer at a teacher's college. Yay! Next month I'll find out which city I will be posted in. My practicum is at a local university. It's been interesting to observe a different method of instruction than I have practiced and was taught in. The week after next I'll actually get to teach. My goal is to model

Quick update - my host family is awesome and they feed me really well. Almost too well. Homemade everything: grape leaf dolmas, cabbage leaf dolmas, garlic yogurt sauce, chicken-fresh eggs, preserved cherries in cherry syrup, sweet tea, goat cheese, the list goes on. My left-handedness is a source of curiosity and amusement. I am fortunate to have a Western toilet at home which is a good

I tried to call my favorite person and broke down crying when I listened to the voicemail message. Just hearing his voice made me question my decision to be here. Which is interesting because until that moment I was eager for this adventure, the ups and the downs. I guess that was my first hurdle. I did some breathing exercises and came back to center. I know that this is exactly what I should be

After 24+ hours of travel, I am in Azerbaijan. I haven't seen much of the country yet because we're in a hotel for Orientation Week but what I've seen so far is nice. The weather is warm and a little muggy so I'm sure I seemed ridiculous carrying my giant winter coat through the airport. This morning we'll find out who our clustermates are. We'll break up into clusters of 5 or 6 for our 10 weeks

After submitting some paperwork*, I'm officially a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT). Next step is to wake up in 6 hours, lug my ridiculously enormous luggages (I like that word) to JFK, hop a couple of planes, and find myself in Baku, Azerbaijan. After that, it's 10 weeks of language, culture, safety, and job training. But I can only do this one day at a time so right now I'm focused on getting myself

I'm at the Hampton Inn in Philadelphia. Staging is tomorrow afternoon. A fellow volunteer, Gretchen, was on my flight and we met up with another volunteer, Myriam, while waiting for the shuttle. I'm exhausted and kinda greasy and have the kind of wicked headache that only comes from uncontrollable crying. But I'm happy. I look forward to meeting more people tomorrow. Now I sleep.

Storage unit full? Check. Unrecyclable/unloved items taken to transfer station? Check. Piles of paperwork dealt with? Check. Freaking out? Check. Running around today dealing with last-minute stuff (need 2 more skirts, 2 more long-sleeved shirts, and batteries, clean the apartment, do a test pack) so that I can spend worry-less time with my favorite person tomorrow. Thank goodness for lists.

I'm spending about a week at my parent's (parents'? I should know this!) house here in the dry heat of northern California. I didn't realize how much I needed this time - to decompress from the self-imposed stress of my last month at work, to be a couch potato with my dad, to go shopping with my mom, to walk in the suburban neighborhood I grew up in.Walking in the neighborhood, past homes of

Sept 28: Sea-Tac to PhiladelphiaSept 29: OrientationSept 30: JFK to FrankfurtOct 1: Frankfurt to BakuOct 2 - ~Dec 7: Pre-Service Training in Sumqayit, Azerbaijan (winner of the 2006 and 2007 awards for most polluted place on Earth!). I'll live with a host family and get intense language, culture, and job training.~Dec 8: Swearing In ceremony~Dec 9, 2009 - Dec 2011: Co-teach English to Azerbaijani

My flight to Philadelphia has been booked. Whoa. This is really happening!

It begins!Staging is September 29 in Philadelphia. We leave the next morning on a bus to JFK where we'll then fly (via Frankfurt?) to Baku.It would be fantastic to receive mail during Pre-Service Training (PST). I'll be in PST for the months of October and November and during the beginning of December. The Peace Corps peeps recommend, during PST only, flat mail or padded envelopes. Send me larger

While walking across the Montlake bridge to work this morning, I saw a sandhill crane* fall out of the sky, hit a bridge support and land in the middle of traffic. I was unnerved. It was barely moving and seemed unable to walk or fly. I stood staring at it and tried to track down the Fish and Wildlife number. A couple of other pedestrians went into the traffic, shoo'ed the crane onto the sidewalk

Last night I held a dead cat. Everyone, including the cat and her owner, knew the end was coming but it was difficult to endure when it actually arrived. I have a sincere fondness for felines and that one will be missed.Read this in a Modern Love column and it speaks to me:It doesn't seem fair that we can look back and connect the dots in life, and see what led from that to this, but we cannot

So much to purchase and gather! Second Ascent has been my go-to store and I plan to take a fresh look at stuff I already own. My Illinois snow boots could probably be patched, I have some no-longer-remotely-stylish wool sweaters that I was going to donate, etc.Suggestions welcome![Most of this list is compiled from the Azerbaijan packing list ]General clothing:_A good supply of

Or, "Saying Goodbye, Part I."Last night was an absolutely gorgeous night on Lake Union. I was fortunate to sail and the weather was fantastic - short sleeves until 9pm! Duck Dodge was in full swing and the lake was covered in sailboats. At one point, we gave way to Circe and the skipper joyfully called out, "It doesn't get any better than this!" Indeed.Right now, my life is abundant with good

This week I started to get nervous. What the heck am I doing? Can I stick it out for 2 years, 9 weeks? Is this really what I want to do? I will probably struggle with these questions until the day I return so maybe it's a good time to remind myself why I'm doing this. My aspiration statement talks about some of my intentions but the Blue Scholars song "Motion Movement" gets at the emotion (and is

I finally finished my aspiration statement and sent it off. Here are some highlights.Q: What professional attributes do you plan to use, and what aspirations do you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps service?A: One of the primary reasons I am pursuing Peace Corps service is to test the language and culture theories of my graduate school training. At [university] I combined anthropology,

Oi. March is killing me. Work has been so busy and I have been so stressed that this week I realized I have had an on again/off again cold since December. DECEMBER. I do not like to be sick and do not look forward to being sick in an unfamiliar country.

Poor me.

FedEx confirms that my dental forms were delivered to Peace Corps this morning. I think it will be an easy clearance because my teeth cleaning was a smashing success. Really! It was incredibly easy. I feel very lucky to have healthy teeth and good dental insurance.

Yay me.

Working on my aspiration statement (it was due a couple of weeks ago!) and will post it when I am finished.

It is not possible to overstate my excitement. I just got an email from someone (hi Stephanie!) who is also going to Azerbaijan. Aiii! That makes it real. Yay!

Lots of exclamation points!

And lots of organizing to do. Over the years I've been pretty good about getting rid of stuff but now realize just how much stuff I still have. Anyone want a tiny ceramic teapot?

This wouldn't be a Peace Corps blog without a timeline. It's kinda like the '25 Random Things About Me' virus going through Facebook. Here's my application timeline:

During college: think briefly about Peace Corps but dismiss it due to fear

Spring 2006: wonder what to do with my life; see Peace Corps ad on Idealist.org

Summer 2006: ponder the possibility and meet with returned volunteers

Autumn 2006: application and interview

2007: nomination for TEFL in South Pacific; medical and dental clearance; legal hold (due to financial debt)

Most of 2008: deactivation. Consider giving up and switching careers instead. Pay off majority of financial debt.

December 31, 2008: request reactivation.

January 2009: nomination for TEFL in Central Asia/Caucuses

February 2009: invitation to Azerbaijan.

March 2009: dental appointment (dental clearance only good for one year).

This has been a long process and, as such, I've had time to consider many aspects to doing Peace Corps volunteer work at the not-so-young-anymore age of 36. It's certainly an unusual choice and there are consequences but it's exactly what I should be doing right now.

I am going to Azerbaijan to co-teach English to children ages 7-16. Staging is at the end of September and then pre-service training runs through the beginning of December. My actual service will be December 2009-December 2011.

I am thoroughly excited and definitely nervous!

This blog is written by a couple currently serving in Azerbaijan: http://bakutothefuture.blogspot.com/

Azerbaijan on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/search/?s=int&w=all&q=azerbaijan&m=text

and

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=azerbaijan

This morning I received a lovely surprise in my email..."your application status has been updated." WOOHOO! Unfortunately my toolkit doesn't tell me where I am going; for that, I must wait for the mail to arrive. Archaic! The package was sent from DC yesterday so I hope it will arrive by Saturday. I am so anxious to know where I am going! And when!

I am doing my best to be patient while I wait for my invitation. I keep worrying (because I'm good at it!) that something will go wrong and I'll be deferred to Jan 2010. Aiigh! It is ironic to me that I must learn to be patient with the large bureaucracy of Peace Corps when I work as a semi-bureaucrat. We get what we give...

These letters are interesting reads. They are remarks from current/retired US Foreign Service Officers on how their PC experience relates to their FSO experience.

http://afsa.org/fsj/oct08/fromThe.pdf

http://afsa.org/fsj/nov08/fromThe.pdf

After much thought and internal hand-wringing, I re-activated my Peace Corps application. I had made an application to WorldTeach's Bangladesh program and was very excited about it but ultimately decided that I needed something different and somehow bigger. It looks like I'll get what I asked for because I've been nominated to Central Asia/English Teacher Training/September 2009. These are the possible countries if my nomination does not change:

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyz Republic

Turkmenistan

A woman told me she had the same nomination and was sent to the Kyrgyz Republic/Kyrgyzstan. According to the PC site, I'm in for a bit of culture shock (and cold winters! Why did I ask to switch from the South Pacific to Eastern Europe/Central Asia??)

I'm excited :)

Wikipedia entry on Kyrgyzstan (the EU has banned KR airlines from flying in their airspace due to low safety standards. Umm...)

PC photo gallery of Kyrgyz Republic

Flickr search of Kyrgyzstan (look for the curious squirrel! them's some ears!)

Flickr search of Kyrgyz Republic

I still need to go through dental clearance (expires after one year) and can't see my dentist until March. Tom Petty was right - the waiting IS the hardest part. I know that anything can happen between now and invitation and that even after invitation the destination can change. Regardless, I am going to start learning Russian. Gives me something useful to do during the long wait!

Just read a heartwarming article about a Colombian teacher delivering books to the countryside via donkeys named Alfa and Beto. If the link doesn't work, search for 'Acclaimed Colombian institution has 4,800 books and 10 legs' at www.nytimes.com

I rearranged the desks in my office. It is more welcoming now and that makes me happy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/science/11collider.html

The article presents a melancholic tone in its description of Fermilab's new second-place position in the world of particle collision and in the dejection that followed Congress' decision not to fund the Superconducting Supercollidor.

In a roundabout way, CERN reminds me of the scene in 'Contact' where John Hurt's character explains to Jodi Foster's character that a second wormhole machine has been built in secret in Japan and all is not lost. ["Why build one when you can build two for twice the price?"]

tonight! Those Swiss scientists are gearing up to recreate the Big Bang. Hold on to your hats.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/science/09collide.html

If, like me, you don't really understand the science, this video may help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50ZssEojtM

And this video is just incredibly cute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpAl58XyV5Q

I was impressed with Obama's acceptance address at the Democratic National Convention last night. Man, that guy can speechify like nobody's business. He and his wife are rhetorical powerhouses and I mean that with the utmost respect, recognizing the definition of rhetoric as the art of speaking or writing effectively. Just over 2 months until November 4...

'Rhetoric' is more commonly used as a disparaging adjective. With that usage, I have been thinking hard about the Peace Corps' rhetoric of peace and friendship. The Peace Corps is an agency of the United States government and it has made clear that it is supportive of, and aligned with, US foreign policy. This is troubling and something about which I need to think more. Additionally, would I be taking away a job that would otherwise have gone to a citizen? And just because the host country invites the Peace Corps doesn't mean the city/town/village thinks that is the best use of resources and a position that they actually need. I'm not rethinking my desire to go overseas, rather I am pondering the question, "How should I make the best use of my skills?"

Unrelated but adorable, watch this with the sound off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0UKqwUd8Ec

The Washington Post reports that the Peace Corps has been asked to cut its budget by 15% which will result in 400 less positions in the coming year. I think I'll be safe but I've been researching alternatives just in case. I'm actually rather interested in WorldTeach's Access Academy position in Bangladesh.

Washington Post article If the link is broken, go to www.washingtonpost.com and search for 'Peace Corps to pare ranks of volunteers'

I just finished reading Into the Wild. I remember seeing it in an airport bookstore, years ago, but can't recall why I didn't pick it up. Probably because it didn't sound interesting. "Oh, rich hippie kid eschews privilege and dies due to stupid mistakes? No thanks."

But I picked it as my book club selection because I am interested in learning about people who choose something a little different and how they prepared for and dealt with the challenges, mental and physical (or didn't, in McCandless's case). Also because I realize that Peace Corps is inherently about rich people eschewing privilege for a while, emphasis on the temporary. Hopefully I will not die in the process or, if so, at least not due to a stupid mistake(s).

I recommend the book, if only for Jon Krakauer's chapter about his own youthful, naive Alaskan adventure. I don't symphathize with Chris McCandless but I can see how others would and I definitely see how I could have made both of his final, foolish mistakes. Note to self: a river in Spring is not the same river in Summer and don't eat what you don't know.

The Journey on the Wild Coast blog is the other end of the spectrum: people who could live for months in the wilderness, and did! Check out the photo of the pre-canned salmon. Neat.

Will I be living in 'primitive' conditions this time next year? Probably not and I won't lie and say I'm sad about that. I adore my conveniences but I'm curious to see how I react to conditions that are slightly, or more, less than what I'm used to.

Recently I watched two documentaries that reminded me how privileged I am.

The first was The Devil Came on Horseback, an on-the-ground perspective of the genocide in Darfur. Brian Steidle was a Marine who went to work in 2004 as a ceasefire monitor for the African Union. As a monitor, his job was to observe and write reports. He heard stories about the violence in Darfur but that region of Sudan wasn't part of the negotiated ceasefire. Regardless, he started monitoring and what he found was almost beyond belief. His photographs, interviews, and video help to illuminate and make real an extremely dire situation.

I agree that Steidle is too much a part of the film -- I would prefer more interviews with people who survived the violence -- but it's still worth watching. Check out Global Grassroots for more information about successful efforts to help those displaced to Chad.

Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary was the second film. It's about illegal immigration and follows two men as they perilously make their way north from Honduras due to poverty. The director said that he chose to make the film after conversing with a man who had illegally immigrated to Canada and said that the most difficult and dangerous part of his journey was getting through Mexico. The man called Mexico the 'Highway of Hell'. I had heard of the Mara Salvatrucha gangs but learned more about how they originated. Luck be to any immigrant who crosses their path. A fascinating and heartbreaking film.

I learned this week that U.S. hospitals have the authority to deport people: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/us/03deport.htm

And that the Army published a field surgery manual:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/health/05surg.html

And that I am still deathly afraid of spiders. Case in point: last night I spent 45 minutes trying to work up the courage to kill a cocooned, obviously pregnant lady spider up in a corner of my room. A 1.5 hp shopvac didn't work! [Note to self: spiderwebs really are as strong as you heard they were.] Tentative poking with a BBQ skewer didn't work! Staring intently and wishing it away didn't work! Solution: fearless roommate.

God help me if I end up in a land of creepy crawlies.

A 5lb muskrat has undone all of the work put into a Winfield, MO levee. It's funny, from way up here in the sunny (snicker) Northwest, until you read this quote:

"How bad do I feel? You have no idea," said Travis Tutka, the Army Corps of Engineers' dam safety expert who helped coordinate the effort to save the levee. "The challenge we met for so long out here — I can't come up with the words for the feeling. The levee did as well as it did because of the resolve of the people who worked on it."

Dam on, engineers.

Taken from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080627/ap_on_re_us/midwest_flooding

Edith Macefield died on Sunday at the small home she courageously refused to give up. Hers was a small battle in the global scheme but it impressed me nonetheless. Seattle developers offered her up to $1 million to leave her $130,000 property but she said no. The developers built around her.

RIP Edith.

http://www.komonews.com/news/20188164.html

[If the link doesn't work, go to komonews.com and search for 'epitome of vintage ballard']

I'm officially 'inactive' with Peace Corps until I show them that I've taken care of my financial obligations and/or have a plan to take care of them while I'm away. I am cautiously optimistic that, very soon, I'll be able to show PC that I'm financially clear. YAY!

Right now the Pacific Islands desk has my application but I think I'll get thrown back into the mix when I become active again. Often I am asked, "where do you want to go?" And my answer is, "I haven't been anywhere that Peace Corps goes so it's all new and therefore ok by me!"

As soon as I said it, I realized it was true. Any region/country is fine as long as I'll be at a teacher's college and training English teachers. I've stayed firm on the job description and flexible on the location so I think PC is happy.

PCV blog I like: http://onerevolution.net/

Interesting article written by a former Cameroon country director on the failed promises of the Peace Corps. I agree with him that sending untrained recent college graduates is a poor idea and I applaud PC's recent efforts to heavily recruit retirees. Also I agree with him about the need to measure success. 50 years and no assessment? That's disappointing.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4295&page=0

[If the link doesn't work, go to foreignpolicy.com and search for 'Think Again: The Peace Corps' by Robert L. Strauss]

What is there to be scared of? I mean, really?